Week of December 5th, 2016
Traditions Feast
The 4th grade Traditions Feast is one of my favorite events of the year! You
are all invited to join us at school on December 21st from 12:30-2:00pm
to share in each other's traditions and some delicious treats!
For this
special feast, I am asking that the fourth graders bring in a food item
or dish that they usually enjoy during the holidays. At the feast,
students will first share a little bit about the food they brought in
and then we will eat. Next week, your child will bring home a traditions
worksheet. Please work with them to think of a dish that is traditional
(or well liked) in your family that would be possible to bring to
school to share on Dec. 21st. Thank you in advance for contributing to
this event! Dishes do not need to be homemade, just special for your
family. Foods that have been shared in the past range from homemade
latkes to hot chocolate to store bought cookies.
California Cookies
We
have an exciting event coming up before winter break! Making California
cookies is a longstanding 4th grade tradition at Edna Maguire and I’m
excited to bring it to your kids this year! On December 22nd at 1:30pm,
your children will be decorating cookies in the shape of California to
demonstrate the natural landforms of our state. I appreciate any and
all support that you can provide for this event. Please visit the sign
up genius page to volunteer to bake cookies, donate supplies or help in
class on the day of the activity.
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E094CACAA2FA20-california5
Please contact me at ejfrazier@mvschools.org with any
questions that you have. If you sign up to bake cookies, I will be in
touch with directions and a recipe. Thank you in advance for your help!
Poetry
This is a Kiddo! sponsored program that started this week! Students will
be learning about writing their own poetry under the guidance of Terri
Glass, a seasoned poet with the Poets in Schools Organization.
The Winter Sing
This performance will be featuring the Kiddo!-sponsored 3rd and 4th
grade chorus! It is on Tuesday, December 20th at 1pm in the MPR. Please
join us if you are able!
Mindful Mornings
Who:
Edna Maguire students, students’ families (parents, grandparents,
guardians, siblings, cousins - anyone!), and staff interested in
starting off their day more mindfully.
What: A mindfulness lesson
supported by Tara Ordonez – Edna’s very own 1st grade teacher who has
participated in Mindful Schools training and certification programs.
Where: On the stage in the MPR
When: Every Friday morning from 8:30-8:40am beginning Friday, December 9
Why:
Mindfulness is "paying attention to the present moment on purpose and
non-judgmentally.” In the school setting, mindfulness helps students to
increase their focus and concentration skills, improve self-awareness,
self-control and resilience - all critical skills for being a successful
student and citizen. In today's world, where over stimulation is
constant, cultivating mindfulness can give children powerful tools to
develop a more balanced and self-regulated mind and body. Mindfulness
teaches our children to be more present and it gives them the permission
to stop and just "be" for a moment.
Beyond these compelling
reasons to practice mindfulness, participating in A Mindful Morning at
Edna is a unique experience to share with your child and other Edna
students and families.
Details: There is no need to sign up. Just arrive in the MPR by 8:30am and quietly join us on the stage. Students
can attend Mindful Mornings without the supervision of a parent or
guardian, but will be expected to participate appropriately. If the
curtains are closed on the stage, the mindfulness lesson has begun –
please be mindful and don’t interrupt. We’d love to see you the
following week!
Students should leave their backpacks on the floor in front of the stage when they arrive. We
would welcome and greatly appreciate any yoga mat or carpet
sample/square donations. Until we have our own supply, bringing your own
mat or blanket might make the stage floor more comfortable. We hope to see you next Friday, December 9, at 8:30am!
Kiddo!
The
Mill Valley School District relies on financial support from Kiddo! in
order to bring our children a quality, well-rounded education. Your contributions to Kiddo! make so many programs and services at our school possible!
Because of your donations, our students are given regular instruction in
art, music, dance, drama, poetry, and P.E. My students and I also get
help from Kiddo! funded classroom aides, library aides, and tech
experts. In fact, Kiddo! is celebrating its 35th year supporting our
schools, teachers, and kids! Please know that your voluntary donations
to Kiddo! every year – in any amount – help keep great programs and
people in place at our school. Thanks in advance for helping Kiddo! help
our schools.
Yearbooks
Last
year the PTA purchased a yearbook for each student. Thank you, PTA!
However, this year and going forward we are reverting back to having
parents purchase one for their family or each of their students if they
would like to have one. While it was nice to provide each student a
book, the $13,500 expense is just too big to justify when there are
other programs that more urgently need PTA funding.
Yearbooks can be purchased via the website. Edna Weekly or the following link through January 31st, 2017.
http://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productBrowse/1094183/Edna-Maguire-Elementary-School/2017-Yearbook/2016103104151532051/CATALOG_SHOP/;jsessionid=FAC18BD19D2C3CF98105D1D86FAA4CBE
Birthday Books
The
PTA is funding a birthday book for each student at Edna. These books
are needed for the library so the PTA fully funding the Edna library's
$14,000 budget is a better use of parent donations. Thank you parents,
for your donations!
Sutter's Fort
The planning for our incredible Sutter's Fort trip has begun! This hands
on, immersive field trip requires a great deal of preparation and
parent support. Please mark your calendars for the mandatory parent
meeting, which will be held on January 25th, 2017 at 6:30pm. At least one parent from each family needs to attend this meeting to ensure that your family knows how to prepare for the trip.
This year, we will also need to sew some costume elements ahead of time
in order to be able to provide them for the entire class. If you know
how to sew and are interested in helping out, please contact me or Cara
Guyot. She will be organizing a few sewing parties to get us ready for
our big trip. Thank you, Cara, and everyone who is planning helping out!